Bundle inverting means



Jan. 1, 1963 w. c. JONES ETAL BUNDLE INVERTING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 13, 1959 ATTO EYS Jan. 1, 1963 w. c. JONES EI'AL BUNDLE INVERTING MEANS Filed March 15. 1959 5 Shgets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Wazie?" C1 5 and 1b ATTORNEYS Jan. 1, 1963 w. c. JONES ETAL BUNDLE INVERTING MEANS Filed Ma rch 13. 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Rs @w wwg 1 ww I m m m hMWH M \w W rIWI Jan. 1, 1963 w. c. JONES EFAL BUNDLE INVERTING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 15. 1959 INVENTORS Jan. 1,1963

W. C. JONES ETAL BUNDLE INVERTING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 13. 1959 INVENTORS %ZZ C. 1/07265 and WZZZZ QWZKfi BY mum 624E ATTORNEYS NNN Q IHII 3,ti71,257 BUNDLE INVERTING MEANS Walter C. Jones, San Mateo, and William K. Brown,

Smatoga, Calif., assignors to Qontinental Can Company, Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 799,290 4 Claims. (GI. 214-4) In the art of can manufacture in which lacquered metal sheets are to be used, it is customary to feed the sheets successively from a stack, coat one side of the successively fed sheets, dry the coatings, re-stack the sheets on a pallet in a pile or bundle, invert the bundle, again successively feed the sheets, coat the other sides thereof, and dry the coatings.

The present invention has aimed to provide a new and efficient means for inverting the bundles, in which a rotor is provided to receive each bundle from a stationary roller conveyor extending from the first coating and drying means, and to invert the received bundle for reception by a second stationary roller conveyor extending to the second coating and drying means.

Another object has been to provide a rotor of simple construction embodying two spaced rotatably mounted side disks, a lower roller conveyor between said side disks to receive the bundle from the first stationary conveyor, a vertical wall which limits the movement of the bundle onto said lower roller conveyor, and an upper roller conveyor between said side disks to support the inverted bundle in readiness for movement onto the second stationary conveyor.

A further object has been to provide two vertical side frames having hearings in which trunnions on the rotor side disks are mounted, to provide said side disks with lateral stops cooperable with portions of said side frames to limit turning of the rotor to bundle inverting position, and to provide said side disks with additional lateral stops cooperable with other portions of said side frames to limit the return movement of said rotor to bundle receiving psition.

A still further object has been to provide electrical actuating means for the rotor, including two limit switches mounted on one of said side frames, to provide a lateral arm on the adjacent rotor disk to open one of said limit limit switches when the rotor has been turned to bundle inverting position, and to provide another lateral arm on said rotor disk to open the other of said limit switches when said rotor has been returned to bundle receiving position.

Another object has been to provide each of the above mentioned side frames with two downwardly diverging bars which are cooperable with the aforesaid stops.

A further object has been to utilize the two downwardly diverging bars of one of the side frames as supports for the two limit switches, respectively.

A still further object has been to make novel provision for positionally adjusting the aforesaid wall according to the size of the bundles to be handled and of such construction that the weight of a bundle being inverted, when acting downwardly on said wall, cannot move this wall from the position to which it has been adjusted.

Yet another object has been to so mount the aforesaid wall that it may be moved to an out-of-the-way position, to allow movement of the bundles from the first stationary conveyor through the rotor onto the second stationary conveyor, and to provide for locking the rotor when bundle conveying in this manner is desired, for example, when only one side of the sheets is to be coated.

A still further object has been to provide for starting the motor of the electrical rotor actuating means in bundle Ptent inverting direction by momentarily closing one control switch, to provide for starting said motor in rotor returning direction by momentarily closing another control switch, and to provide for automatically assuring con tinued operation of the motor in either direction until the rotor has been turned to the required position.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view, partly broken away, showing the rotor in bundle receiving position.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation, partly broken away, looking in the direction of arrow 2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on line 3-3 of FIGURE 1, showing a bundle in the rotor in readiness for inversion.

FIGURE 4 is an outer side view of one end portion of the vertical wall of the rotor.

FIGURE 5 is an end view of the same wall.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary side elevation as indicated by arrow 6 of FIGURE 1, showing the rotor locked against turning.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section, showing the rotor turned half way from its receiving position toward its delivery position.

FIGURE 8 is a diagram showing the rotor fully turned to delivery position and showing the bundle leaving the rotor.

FIGURE 9 is a diagram showing the rotor locked and the vertical wall removed to allow passage of the bundles through the rotor without being inverted.

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary view showing a different way of mounting the vertical Wall.

FIGURE 11 is a diagram of the electrical rotor actuating means.

The construction disclosed in the drawings will be rather specifically described but attention is invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention.

A rigid frame structure is provided upon which to mount the rotor 12. This frame structure comprises two side frames 13 and 13 rigidly connected by transverse base members 14 and 15 and disposed in parallel vertical planes. Each side frame has a bearing 16 at its upper end, and two inclined bars 17 and 17 which diverge downwardly from said bearing. One of the side frames (13) has a lateral support 18 upon which a reversible electric motor 19 is mounted to drive the rotor 12. The motor 19 is of three phase type and includes reduction gearing between its armature shaft and its output shaft 20. The motor also includes an automatic brake to stop it as soon as its actuating circuit is broken. As all of these motor characteristics are conventional, the disclosure has not been encumbered with illustration thereof.

The rotor 12 includes two parallel vertical side disks 21 and 21 near the side frames 13 and 13 respectively and provided with trunnions 22 mounted in the bearings 16. The trunnion of the disk 21 has a sprocket 23 connected by a chain 24. with a drive sprocket 25 on the motor output shaft 20. The trunnions 22 are preferably secured to plates 26 which are bolted at 27 to the disks 21 and 21".

Each of the disks 21 and 21 has one lateral stop 28 to limit the turning of the rotor 12 to its bundle inverting position, and another lateral stop 23 to limit return of the rotor to its bundle receiving position. The stops 28 strike the upper sides of the inclined bars 17 and the stops 28 strike the upper sides of the inclined bars 17*. These same bars 17 and 17 of the side frame 13 also serve as supports for two limit switches 29 and 29 respectively, which are instrumental in effecting breaking of the motor circuit when the rotor 12 has been turned to either of its positions.

A lower roller conveyor 30 and an upper roller conveyor 30 are both disposed between and mounted on the side disks 21 and 21 When the rotor 12 occupies its bundle receiving position (FIGURES 2 and 3) the lower roller conveyor 30 is in position to receive a bundle B from the roller conveyor 31 which extends from the first sheet coating and drying means. The bundle is supported as usual on a suitable pallet P. After reception of the bundle by the lower conveyor 30, an additional pallet or pallets P is/ are placed upon this bundle to substantially fill the space between said bundle and the upper conveyor 30*. When the bundle is inverted (FIGURE 8) the conveyor 30 is in position to deliver the bundle B, then supported by the pallet or pallets P, onto a roller conveyor 32 which extends to the second sheet coating and drying means.

A vertical wall 33 extends between and is secured to the side disks 21 and 21 at one end of the roller conveyors 30 and 30 to limit the movement of the bundle B onto the conveyor 30, as seen in FIGURE 3. This wall comprises a rigid rectangular frame 34 and a plate 35 secured thereto. The end bars of the frame 34 are secured against the inner sides of the disks 21 and 21 in such manner that the wall 33 may be positionally adjusted toward or from the axis of the rotor 12, according to the size of the bundles to be handled.

Threaded fasteners shown as cap screws 36, are employed in securing the wall 33 to the disks 21 and 21 These screws 36 are threaded through the end bars of the frame 34 and into bosses 37 on said end bars as best seen in FIGURES 3 and 4. It is preferable to provide the disks 21 and 21 with parallel slots 38 (FIGURES 2 and 3) along which the screws 36 may slide after said screws are loosened, permitting positional adjustment of the wall 33 without entirely removing said screws. The slots 38 have spaced notches 39 in one wall thereof into which to selectively seat the screws 36 before re-tightening them: and said notches 39 are acute to the lengths of the slots in such a direction that the screws 36 will have no tendency to creep from said notches when the Wall 33 supports the full weight of the bundle B during inversion thereof (see FIGURE 7).

It is preferable to provide clamping bars 40 between the heads of the screws 36 and the rotor side disks 21 and 21 and these clamping bars are of course shiftable with said screws and the wall 33 when adjusting said wall from one position to another.

When the metal sheets are to be coated on one side only and no inversion of the bundles B is therefore required, the wall 33 may be detached and moved to an outof-the-way position to allow the bundles to travel from the conveyor 31 along the conveyor 30 and onto the conveyor 32, .as shown in FIGURE 9. When this manner of operation is required, the rotor 12 is locked to relieve the chain 24 and other drive elements of the strain of holding said rotor.

For locking the rotor 12, a transverse shaft 41 is mounted in bearings 42 secured on the bars 17* of the side frames 13 and 13 and said shaft 41 is provided with eccentrics 43 to jamb against the edges of the side disks 21 and 21 when said shaft is turned from the position shown in FIGURE 3 to that of FIGURE 6. An arm 44 is provided on one end of the shaft 41, to turn it as required: and this arm is secured at 45 (FIGURE 6) to one of the bars 17 when the eccentrics 43 are to be used to lock the rotor.

In the preferred construction of the rotor 12, the rollers of the conveyors 30 and 30 are mounted on angle bars 46 (FIGURES 1 and 3) which are bolted at 47 to other angle bars 48. The latter are bolted at 49 to the rotor side disks 21 and 21 Transverse tie bars 50 and crossed braces 51 rigidly connect the bars 46 at opposite sides of the rotor.

In FIGURE 10, the wall securing screws 36 may be passed through any of the openings 52 to mount the wall 33.

In FIGURE 11, a switch and wiring diagram for the three phase motor 19 is shown, including the above mentioned limit switches 29 and 29 These switches are of self-closing type and the rotor side disk 21 is provided with two lateral arms 53 and 53 (FIGURE 2) for opening said switches, respectively, to stop the motor 19. When the rotor occupies bundle receiving position (FIGURE 2) the arm 53 holds the limit switch 29 open; when the rotor has been turned to bundle inverting position, the arm 53 opens the limit switch 29 and stops the motor 19: and when the rotor has been returned to bundle receiving position, arm 53 again opens the limit switch 29 and stops the motor.

In FIGURE 11, three line wires 54, 55 and 56 extend to three terminals 57, 58 and 59 of a motor switch 60*. This switch is diagrammatically shown as including fixed contacts 61, 62 and 63 electrically connected respectively with the terminals 57 to 59, and as also including movable contacts 64, 65 and 66 for coaction with said fixed contacts 61 to 63, respectively. The contacts 64 to 66 are mounted on a movable carrier 67 and are connected by conductors 68, 69 and 7-0 with the load terminals 71, 72

and 73. From these terminals, wires 74, 75 and 76 extend to the motor 19.

An additional contact 77 is mounted on the carrier 67 for coaction with a fixed contact 78 which is connected with a terminal 79. A conductor 80 extends from the movable contact 77 to a terminal 81.

The switch 60 is of self-opening type and includes a coil 82 for closing it when energized, to operate the motor 19 and cause turning of the rotor 12 in bundle inverting direction. One wire 83 extends from the terminal 81 to one terminal of the limit switch 29 and another wire 84 extends from the other terminal of this switch 29 to the coil 82.

A second motor switch 85 is provided to cause driving of the motor 19 in a direction to return the rotor 12 to bundle receiving position. The switch 85 includes terminals 86, 87 and 88 to which fixed contacts 89, 90 and 91 are connected, respectively. The terminal 86 is connected by a conductor 92 to the terminal 57 of the switch 60; the terminal 87 is connected by a conductor 93 to the terminal 58 of said switch 60; and the terminal 88 is connected by a conductor 94 with the terminal 59 of said switch 60. Contacts 95, 96 and 97 are cooperable with the contacts 89, 90 and 91, respectively, and are mounted on a movable carrier 98. Conductors 99, 100 and 101 connect the contacts 95, 96 and 97 with load terminals 102, 103 and 104, respectively. One conductor 105 connects the terminal 102 with the terminal 73 of the switch 60; another conductor 106 connects the terminal 103 to the terminal 72 of said switch 60, and a third conductor 107 connects the terminal 104 to the terminal 71 of said switch 60.

An additional contact 108 is mounted on the carrier 98 for coaction with a fixed contact 109- which is connected with a terminal 110. A conductor 111 connects the terminal to the terminal 79 of the switch 60, and a conductor 112 connects the contact 108 to a terminal 113.

The switch 85 is of self-opening type and includes a coil 114 for closing it when energized. A conductor 115 extends to the coil 114 from one terminal of the limit switch 29 and another conductor 116 extends to the other terminal 113. A return conductor 117 is connected with both of the coils 82 and 114 and extends to the terminal 87 of the switch 85.

At the left of FIGURE 11, three switches 118, 119 and are shown. The switch 118 is a self-opening manually-closed control switch and is closed to cause motor operation for turning the rotor 12 in bundle inverting direction. The switch 119 is a self-opening manuallyclosed control switch and is closed to cause motor operation for returning the rotor 12 to bundle receiving position after bundle inversion. The switch 120 is a normally closed cut-off or safety switch which may be manually opened should the necessity arise. All of the switches 118, 119 and 120 are of push button type and mounted on a suitable control panel.

An additional cut-off switch 120*- is provided, to be opened and held open when the roll-through operation depicted in FIGURE 9, is required.

A conductor 121 extends from the terminal 57 of the motor switch 60 to the switch 120 and another conductor 122 extends from the switch 120- to the safety switch 120. A conductor 123 extends from this switch 120 to one terminal 124 of the control switch 119, and another conductor 125 connects the other terminal 126 of said switch 119 with the terminal 113 of the motor switch 85. A conductor 127 extends from the terminal 124 of control switch 119 to one terminal 128 of the control switch 118, and another conductor 129 connects the other terminal 130 of said switch 118 with the terminal 81 of the motor switch 60. The terminal 128 is also connected with the terminal 79 of the motor switch 60 by a conductor 131.

Operation Assuming that the rotor 12 occupies the position shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the limit switch 29 is in closed position and the limit switch 29 is held in open position by the rotor-carried arm 53, as shown in FIG- URES 2 and 11. A pallet-supported bundle B is moved into the rotor 12 and one or more pallets P is/ are placed on this bundle to substantially fill the space between said bundle and the upper roller conveyor 30*. The operator then momentarily closes the control switch 118. Current now flows to the coil 82 of motor siwtch 60 through the conducting elements 54, 57, 121, 120*, 1-22, 120, 123, 124, 127, 128, 113, 130, 129, 81, 83, 29 and 84. The current passes through the coil 82 and then through the elements 117, 87, 93, 58 and 55. The coil 82 is thus energized and this coil closes the motor switch 611 which causes the motor 19 to rotate and drive the rotor 12 in bundle inverting direction. As soon as the rotor starts, the previously open limit switch 29 re-closes and the control switch 118 is allowed to re-open. Then, however, a circuit is maintained through the coil 82 by virtue of the limit switch 29 and associated conductors. Current for this maintaining circuit reaches the terminal 128 of the control switch 118 as before, and flows from said terminal 128 to limit switch 29, through the elements 131, 79, 78, 77, 8t 81, and 83. From this limit switch 29, the current flows, as before, to and through the coil 82. Consequently this coil will hold the motor switch 611 closed until the arm 53 on the rotor 12 opens the limit switch 29, whereupon the switch 60 opens and the motor 19 stops. At this time, the rotor 12 has completely inverted the bundle B and this bundle is moved from said rotor onto the conveyor 32 as seen in FIGURE 8.

To return the rotor to bundle receiving position, the operator momentarily closes the control switch 119. Current now flows to the coil 114 of the motor switch 85 through the conducting elements 54, 57, 121, 120

122, 120, 123, 124, 119, 126, 125, 113, 116, 29 and 115. The current passes through the coil 114 and then through the elements 117, 87, 93, 58 and 55. The coil 114 is thus energized and this coil closes the motor switch 85 which causes the motor 19 to rotate reversely and drive the rotor 12 back toward bundle receiving position. As soon as the motor starts, the previously opened limit switch 29 re-closes and the control switch 119 is allowed to reopen. Then, however, a circuit is maintained through the coil 114 by virtue of the limit switch 29 and associated conductors. Current for this maintaining circuit flows as before, to the terminal 123 of the control switch 118 and then to the closed limit switch 29 through the elements 131, 79, 111, 110, 109, 198, 112, 113 and 116. From the limit switch 29 the current flows through to the coil 114, and from said coil it flows as before through the elements 117, 87, 93, 58 and 55. Thus the coil 114 will hold the motor switch 85 closed until the arm 53 on the rotor 12 again opens the limit switch 29 whereupon the switch 85 opens and stops the motor 19. At this time the rotor 12 has been completely returned to the bundle receiving position shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.

When roll-through operation is required, as depicted in FIGURE 9, the switch 126a is opened and held open, the Wall 33 is detached and moved to an out-of-the-way position, and the rotor 12 is locked by turning the shaft 41 to jamb the eccentrics 43 against the rotor disks 21 and 21 and then securing the shaft arm 44 as shown in FIGURE 6.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been disclosed for attaining the desired ends. Attention, however, is again invited to the possibility of making variations.

We claim:

1. In a bundle inverting means, a rotor comprising two spaced vertical side disks, an upper roller conveyor and a lower roller conveyor both disposed between and mounted on said side disks, and a vertical wall extending ing between and carried by said side disks, said vertical wall being disposed at one end of said roller conveyors to limit the movement of a bundle onto said lower roller conveyor; means rotatably mounting said rotor on a horizontal axis, and actuating means connected with said rotor, said actuating means being operable to turn said rotor in a direction to move said vertical wall downwardly to horizontal position and then upwardly to vertical position thereby inverting the bundle, said actuating means being also operable to return said rotor to its original position after movement of the inverted bundle from the then lowermost of said roller conveyors, upper and lower threaded fasteners extending through said side disks to secure said vertical wall to said side disks, said side disks having slots in which said fasteners are slidable when released to allow adjustment of said wall toward or from the rotor axis, said slots having spaced notches in one wall thereof into which to seat said fasteners before re-tightening them after adjustment of said wall.

2. In a bundle inverting means, a rotor comprising two spaced vertical side disks, an upper roller conveyor and a lower roller conveyor both disposed between and mounted on said side disks, and a vertical wall extending between and carried by said side disks, said vertical Wall being disposed at one end of said roller conveyors to limit the movement of a bundle onto said lower roller conveyor; means rotatably mounting said rotor on a horizontal axis, and actuating means connected with said rotor, said actuating means being operable to turn said rotor 180 in a direction to move said vertical wall downwardly to horizontal position and then upwardly to vertical position thereby inverting the bundle, said actuating means being also operable to return said rotor to its original position after movement of the inverted bundle from the then lowermost of said roller conveyors, upper and lower threaded fasteners extending through said side disks to secure said vertical wall to said side disks, said side disks having slots in which said fasteners are slidable when released to allow adjustment of said wall toward or from the rotor axis, said slots having .spaced notches in one Wall thereof into which to seat said fasteners before re-tightening them after adjustment of said wall, said notches being acute to the lengths of said slots in a direction to overcome any tendency of said fasteners to slide from said notches when said wall reaches said horizontal position and supports the weight of the bundle.

3. In a bundle inverting means a rotor comprising two spaced vertical side disks, an upper roller conveyor and a lower roller conveyor both disposed between. and mounted on said side disks in directly opposed relation for receiving a bundle therebetween, and a vertical wall extending between and releasably carried by said side disks, said vertical wall being disposed at one end of said roller conveyors to limit the movement of a bundle onto said lower roller conveyor; means rotatably mounting said rotor on a horizontal axis, and actuating means connected with said rotor, said actuating means being operable to turn said rotor 180 in a direction to move said vertical wall downwardly to horizontal bundle supporting position and then upwardly to vertical position thereby inverting the bundle, said actuating means being also operable to return said rotor to its original position after movement of the inverted bundle from the then lowermost of said roller conveyors, said rotor being disposed between two horizontally aligned stationary roller conveyors with which said lower roller conveyor is horizontally aligned, said wall being so mounted that it may be moved to an out-of-the-way position to allow movement of bundles through the rotor from one of said stationary conveyors to the other when desired, and means for locking said rotor against rotation when this movent of bundles is desired.

4. In a bundle inverting means, a rotor comprising two spaced vertical side disks, an upper roller conveyor and a lower roller conveyor both disposed between and mounted on said side disks, and a vertical wall extending between and carried by said side disks, said vertical wall being disposed at one end of said roller conveyors to limit the movement of a bundle onto said lower roller conveyor; means rotatably mounting said rotor on a horizontal axis, and actuating means connected with said rotor, said actuating means being operable to turn said rotor 180 in a direction to move said vertical wall downwardly to horizontal position and then upwardly to vertical position thereby inverting the bundle, said actuating means being also operable to return said rotor to its original position after movement of the inverted bundle from the then lowermost of said roller conveyors said rotor actuating means including a reversible electric motor, current conducting means for establishing a circuit to drive said motor in one direction, said current conducting means comprising a self-opening motor switch having a coil for closing it when energized, a self-opening manually closed control switch operative to energize said coil when closed, and a limit switch for maintaining a circuit through said coil after opening of said manually closed control switch; additional current conducting means for establishing a circuit to drive said motor in the reverse direction to return said rotor to its original position, said additional current conducting means comprising a second self-opening motor switch having a second coil for closing it when energized, a second selfopening manually-closed control switch operative to energize said second coil when closed, and a second limit switch for maintaining a circuit through said second coil after opening of said second manually-closed control switch; means on said rotor for opening the first mentioned limit switch when said rotor has been turned to invert the bundle, and additional means on said rotor for opening said second limit switch when said motor has been reversely turned to its original position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,783,814 Schroeder Dec. 2, 1930 2,125,548 Cowl Aug. 2, 1938 2,226,068 Mosley Dec. 24, 1940 2,520,252 Mutchler Aug. 29, 1950 2,732,057 Temple Jan. 24, 1956 2,769,559 0hr Nov. 6, 1956 2,865,516 Hedderich Dec. 23, 1958 

1. IN A BUNDLE INVERTING MEANS, A ROTOR COMPRISING TWO SPACED VERTICAL SIDE DISKS, AN UPPER ROLLER CONVEYOR AND A LOWER ROLLER CONVEYOR BOTH DISPOSED BETWEEN AND MOUNTED ON SAID SIDE DISKS, AND A VERTICAL WALL EXTENDING ING BETWEEN AND CARRIED BY SAID SIDE DISKS, SAID VERTICAL WALL BEING DISPOSED AT ONE END OF SAID ROLLER CONVEYORS TO LIMIT THE MOVEMENT OF A BUNDLE ONTO SAID LOWER ROLLER CONVEYOR; MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTING SAID ROTOR ON A HORIZONTAL AXIS, AND ACTUATING MEANS CONNECTED WITH SAID ROTOR, SAID ACTUATING MEANS BEING OPERABLE TO TURN SAID ROTOR 180* IN A DIRECTION TO MOVE SAID VERTICAL WALL DOWNWARDLY TO HORIZONTAL POSITION AND THEN UPWARDLY TO VERTICAL POSITION THEREBY INVERTING THE BUNDLE, SAID ACTUATING MEANS BEING ALSO OPERABLE TO RETURN SAID ROTOR TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION AFTER MOVEMENT OF THE INVERTED BUNDLE FROM THE THEN LOWERMOST OF SAID ROLLER CONVEYORS, UPPER AND LOWER THREADED FASTENERS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID SIDE DISKS 